Chilly weather officially arrived for much of the United States, and holiday party planning is well underway. This year think beyond wine and bring a travel experience to your table with craft spirits. That element of terroir that keeps a particular wine lodged in your heart and mind has to do with elements of sun, wind and soil working together in unique alchemy reflective of not only a specific place but a moment in time. Around the world, skilled distillers capture that same experience in spirits. In the Northeastern state of Maine, brewers at Maine Craft Distilling launched a tasty endeavor that sources from local farmers in the creation of 12 unique flavors including Chesuncook Botanical Spirit made from carrots; Sprigge Barrel Rested Gin, aged in oak whiskey barrels; Blueshine Blueberry Moonshine created with 100 percent Maine-grown wild blueberries and a touch of maple syrup; and Fifty Stone Highland, single-malt Scotch made with locally harvested seaweed.

“Trends come and go,” offers Luke Davidson, owner and chief distiller, Maine Craft Distilling, “but the lasting allure of hand-built, high-quality unique and flavorful beverages has always been a mainstay to the beverage consumer. By their very nature, craft distilled spirits embody the spirit and qualities of the region they are created in. It’s not just a drink, but a whole experience.”

Makers use artisanal practices, like fermenting in traditional wooden fermenting barrels, incorporating hardy Maine heritage grains and using historic floor-malting practices harvested with a vintage grain binder pulled by draft horses (the horses’ names, in case you’re wondering, are Gus and Marcus). The company’s Black Cap Barley Spirits is filtered through Maine maple charcoal, while the Alchemy Gin features a secret blend of botanicals from Davidson’s Freeport farm including coriander, juniper and cardamom with a fragrance reminiscent of Maine’s wild forests.

For treating your guests to a pre-Thanksgiving dinner cocktail featuring spirits, or a post-dinner drink by the fire, Davidson recommends hot mulled cider with a dram of QueeQueg Spiced Rum, Hot Buttered Rum with QueeQueg Spiced Rum and a fresh dash of nutmeg on top. “Or,” he says, “a big snifter glass with three fingers of Ration Rum … and nothing else.”